


Growing Up Rose

by Aelia_Gioia



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 22:43:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19755247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelia_Gioia/pseuds/Aelia_Gioia
Summary: Adelina was the first person to hold the newborn son of video store magnate Johnny Rose and his ultra-glamorous actress wife, Moira.I write such long pieces,  this is an exercise in brevity.Let me know what you think!





	1. David

The call button alerted the nurse that the patient was ready at long last.

A veteran of the maternity floor for 15 years, Adelina thought she’d seen it all until the evening in early July when a patient was admitted under a fake name. The delivery room had to be cleared out; far too many assistants and attendants were flitting around the patient, catering to her every need but getting very much in the way. Adelina dismissed everyone except the father-to-be using a more forceful voice than she was used to using in a delivery room.

“Everybody OUT,” she ended up shouting. The father-to-be, a handsome, nervous-looking man went red in the face. He had been trying in his own way to make the intrusive, extraneous bodies exit but they had been ignoring him.

He tapped Adelina on her arm once the room was within the hospital’s posted capacity limits.

“I apologize for my wife. She is used to getting her own way,” he frowned. He’d removed a very expensive-looking suit jacket and rolled up his monogrammed shirt sleeves before slipping his arms into the yellow paper gown she handed him.

She smiled weakly, appreciating the apology but still slightly aghast that so many people would be fighting to get near her patient.

“It’s fine, sir.”

“John! John could you please get Belinda back in here? I require her services.”

He grimaced. His wife was not accustomed to hearing the word ‘no’ but he’d hoped she’d be more focused on delivering their first born than whatever adjustment to her make-up Belinda was going to be tasked with making.

Adelina recognized the famous actress at first glance. She’d seen every episode of her soap opera since its premiere. She’d initially been very excited to be the one who’d be ministering to the Moira Rose.

The actress’s ultra-rich husband was flying in an ultra-exclusive obstetrician who hadn’t arrived yet. He’d been on a par 4 in Malibu when labor began and in those days before reliable mobile phones, he was difficult to reach.

“Ok, Mrs. Rose - “ Adelina spoke tentatively. She was trying not to stare at the patient’s perfect makeup and hair.

“Blake,” she said calmly, snapping a small silver compact shut. “Vivian Blake. I am _not_ Moira Rose, I assure you.”

The nurse paused and looked to the patient’s husband. He hid his face in his hands a moment before he motioned to Adelina, requesting a private word.

“My wife is an actress,” he said apologetically.

“Oh, I know sir. I never miss _Sunrise Bay_ ,” Adelina smiled, his face relaxed a bit.

“She’d be pleased to hear that. So, you watch the show – you must be aware that her character is also pregnant?”

“Yes...” She wasn’t sure where this conversation was going and she wondered why he was talking about her as if she wasn’t there in the room.

“Well, my wife tries not to break character until the full season is filmed, and well, you see -” He was clearly embarrassed to be explaining this.

“If you could use her character’s name, it’ll save all of us a lot of headaches.”

Adelina thought about it for a moment and decided to play along. She didn’t see the harm in it if it helped the patient. It would also be a hell of a story to relay later.

“No problem. Should I be calling you Charles?” It amused her to ask; knowing Charles Palmer was the billionaire oil tycoon who had swept Vivian Blake off her feet on the show.

“No. No, John is just fine.” He smiled and looked grateful.

Adelina nodded and started to walk away but she froze in her path before turning back.

“If she’s pretending to be Vivian Blake and calling you John, does that...” her eyes grew wide. “Does that mean John Blankenship is the father of Vivian’s baby after all?!”

He chuckled in a very telling way.

“I can neither confirm, nor deny,” he winked.

“But - but he’s her nephew!” Adelina gasped.

“Or is he?”

She took a few moments to let the plot points sink in, the patient’s husband grinned good-naturedly at her before tapping the side of his nose in a secret.

“Really?” She whispered.

“You didn’t hear it from me.”

“John! John, I need you!” the patient shrieked.

Adelina didn’t leave her patient’s side for hours. Once the epidural was administered, she calmed down and spoke to Adelina as if they were both residents of the fictional seaside town of Sunrise Bay.

The obstetrician arrived and declared his patient was about ready to push.

“Push?!” Have you taken complete leave of your senses? Absolutely not. You will remove the bebay with the utmost expediency – is that in any way unclear?”

The doctor and husband exchanged looks.

“Ok, Vivian, you just need to try for me...” he said patiently.

“Extricate this bebay!” she howled.

Her face turned bright red. She couldn’t argue anymore as she suddenly was overtaken by the primal urge to push. Having seen that transition happen thousands of times, Adelina recognized it and sprang into action. She ordered the other, less-experienced nurse to assist as she talked her patient through it calmly.

“Vivian,” she pushed the woman’s bare foot up and brushed the blonde hair off her sweaty forehead.

“One, two, three breathe and push...”

The patient was too overcome with the moment to resist and blindly did what she was told. Twenty-five minutes passed.

“You’re doing great. Breathe,” Adelina checked her progress.

“Ok, the baby is crowning, Vivian. You’ve got this – almost there. Deep breath and push – four, five, six, seven - “

All things considered; it was a normal, almost textbook delivery.

“It’s a boy!” the doctor announced, holding the baby in his hands.

The new father cheered joyfully and clapped his hands before cupping his wife’s cheeks and kissing her.

“A boy! My god, a boy! You’ve done it, Moira! I’m so proud of you!”

“A...a boy? No, I have a girl – I've seen the dailies - “ she sounded delusional.

“Um, ma’am?”

The new father swallowed hard and knit his bushy eyebrows together.

“Moira, we have a boy. Vivian Blake has a girl on the show – you are not filming the fucking show right now.”

Adelina took charge of the room.

“Ok, we’ll take him to clean him up...”

She looked down at the perfect baby boy on the newborn-sized scale. She’d never seen a newborn so quiet and alert. He seemed to already be taking everything in.

“I have a girl! Vivian Blake has a girl!” the patient ranted.

“Oh for god’s sake, Moira!” her husband shouted. He waved his hands dismissively at her and approached the table where the baby’s vital statistics were being taken.

“Congrats Johnny! He’s a beauty!” the doctor pulled off his gloves and blood-spattered surgical gown.

The new father took a long, hard look at his son and immediately fell in love.

“Hi, son,” he whispered.

“I’ll give her something to calm her nerves, Johnny. She’ll snap out of it,” the doctor patted his back.

“Um, may I?” he asked Adelina motioning to the baby, asking permission to pick him up.

“Oh, of course!” she scooped him up and gingerly placed him in his father’s arms. Most first-time fathers recoiled at the sight of their newborns covered in gooey viscera but not this one.

“Hi David,” he said, touching his lips to the boy’s forehead.

His wife quieted down once the sedative hit her bloodstream.

“I can take him for his first bath while you get some rest,” Adelina offered kindly.

“Oh? Um...” he seemed to be reluctant to give him up.

“Hit the call button when she wakes up. I’ll bring him right back, ok?”

“Thank you. I’m sorry for - “ he pointed to his wife with his thumb.

“Don’t worry about it. She’s been through a lot.”

In response to the call light from the private birthing suite, Adelina wheeled the newborn back in. He was freshly bathed, wearing an impossibly tiny diaper, a baby blue knit cap and was wrapped in a soft cotton swaddle blanket.

The patient appeared much more balanced and serene. She was freshly coiffured and made-up.

“Ah, there’s my David!” she cooed.

Adelina was relieved to hear the complete change in her demeanor. She smiled and carefully placed the baby in his mother’s arms, his father was fast asleep and snoring softly in a nearby armchair. She cradled and rocked him, speaking softly.

“David my darling, Mummy loves you endlessly and always.” She kissed his cheek and placed him on her own chest.

“Can I bring you anything Ms. Blake?” Adelina asked before she left.

“Oh, aren’t you sweet. You must know, dear – Vivian Blake is just a character on a television program. Though it is very flattering to be recognized.” Neither the tone of her voice nor the expression on her face led Adelina to believe that the patient had any recollection of meeting her before.

The next day, Adelina popped in to check on the new family of three. She was relieved to see Moira bottle-feeding and cuddling with her son. She let them know she’d be back in to check on her later but if they needed her before then, to hit the call button.

“Oh - nurse?” Johnny met her at the door.

“Sir?”

“Thank you for yesterday. I know my wife is a lot to handle.”

“You’re welcome,” she smiled.

“Could I interest you in a job? She’s going to need help.”

“A job? As in-”

“I’ll triple whatever your salary is. Please.”

Before they were discharged, Adelina accepted the job offer and became a nanny and caretaker for David Rose, the last baby she ever helped to deliver.


	2. Alexis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David is getting a baby sister!

David was five when he was awakened in the middle of the night by his mother’s cries of pain.

“John - she’s trying to kill me! John!”

He blinked his eyes hard, not sure if he’d heard her correctly; his bedroom was almost on the other side of the sleeping wing of their  unnecessarily large house .

“I’ve called the driver, Moira – where's your bag?”

“Bag? What bag, John? This  _ demonic imp _ is clawing her way out of my abdomen!”

“Could you please stop calling her that?”

David crept out of bed in his black and white pajamas with one sock sliding off his foot. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his tiny fist before he snuck out of his room and down the hall. He was so worried about what he’d heard that he forgot to step over the squeakiest floorboards right outside his nanny’s bedroom.

“David? You ok?” Adelina peaked her head out of her room. David had braided her long brown hair and she’d left it that way when she went to bed.

“Mommy’s crying...” He pointed in the direction of his parents’ room.

“JOHN! Get this creature  _ out _ of me!”

Adelina smiled and took David’s hand, leading him back to his room.

“What’s going on? Why’s Mommy yelling?” He yawned and she tucked him back in and sat on his bed beside him .

“Mommy’s fine,” she bopped him on the nose. “The baby is coming, that’s all. It's exciting!” She tucked her thumbs into his fists and made his arms shimmy.

“What baby?” He knit his eyebrow s together , he was looking more and more like his father every day .

“David – you know you’re getting a baby sister...” 

“Oh. Right. I forgot.”

Adelina tilted her head, had it really been that long since her employer had seen her son?  H ad been so long that he’d forgotten she was pregnant ?

“What’s the baby’s name  ‘gain  Leeny?” David asked, wrapping the loose ends of her braid around his chubby fingers.

“Alexis, dearest boy. And you ’ll have a very big job now. A  _ very _ important job.”

David sat up and rest his chin on his palm. “What job? I’m too little...”

She laughed. “You might be little but the baby is  _ even littler _ than you. You’re going to be her big brother and she’s going to need you to teach her things. You’re going to have to protect her.”

“Like a knight of the round table?” he asked innocently . S he had shown him the 1960’s film version of  _ Camelot _ with Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave and it was all he wanted to watch anymore.

“That’s right.  _ Just _ like a knight of the round table.”

David pursed his lips together and looked away, considering this assignment. He leaned over the opposite side of his bed and felt around on the floor. His fingers grazed the cloth-covered handle of his toy sword and he took it in his hand before sitting back upright.

“But...what if I don’t like the baby?” He tilted his head. Adelina laughed at the innocence of the question before answering him. 

“Well, you might not  _ like  _ her all the time but you’ll always  _ love _ her.”

“That makes no sense at all.” He crossed his arms.

“Adelina? Adelina?” Johnny was shouting from the hallway.

“I’m here!” She called back to him, standing from David’s bed. He entered the room looking exhausted and too alert at the same time.

“We’re off. You’re going to be ok here?” His eyes flitted to David.

“Oh, of course! I have everything under control,” she rubbed his arm reassuringly.

“You always do. Have I given you a raise recently?” He walked past her to sit on David’s bed.

“Two or three months ago, Mr. Rose.”

He nodded and turned his attention to David.

“You make sure to listen to Adelina, David. Don’t give her any trouble.” He kissed his son on the top of his head and motioned to speak again.

“JOHN! IF YOU DON’T DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS AGONY, I WILL! I WILL FLING MYSELF OFF THE TOP OF THE STAIRS!” His wife howled from the hallway.

“Coming, Moira!” Without another word, he rushed out of the room. Adelina sat with David and read to him until he went back to sleep, clutching his plastic sword in his hand.

Days later all of the household staff was abuzz. Their employers were going to be home soon with the new baby and everything needed to be just so.

David was watching one of his favorite cartoons with his sword tucked into the belt loop of his pants as he ate his second breakfast of the day but he couldn’t sit still. His leg was bouncing and he’d spilled more cereal on the table than he’d actually gotten into his mouth. During each commercial break, he’d jump up and race to the foyer, looking through the curtains; hoping to see the black stretch limo coming up the main drive.

He’d been underfoot all morning, announcing excitedly to anyone within earshot.

“The baby Alexis is coming home!”

The security guard at the gate finally buzzed the main house, letting everyone know that the Roses were home. David squealed and tipped his cereal bowl into his mouth, drinking the rest of the milk and corn flakes down in one gulp. He left the bowl and his spoon on the table before dashing back to the front door. He watched the car come to a stop and his father stepped out. He ran his fingers through his hair and walked around the back of the car to open the door for his wife. The driver let the car idle while he retrieved the bags from the trunk.

David flung the door open and ran towards his parents, jumping down the stairs two at a time, calling for his father.

“Daddy!”

“Hey Son!” David leapt into his father’s arms.

“Where’s ‘lexis?! Where’s she?!”

Moira slid out of the car wearing a glamourous-looking black silk Versace robe, her hair wrapped in a matching turban. Cradled in her arms, was David’s baby sister.

“ Lemme see her!  Lemme see!” David wiggled in his father’s arms so fast, Johnny nearly dropped him.

“Ok, David. Ok!” He laughed and let his feet touch the ground.

“John,” Moira turned to her husband and held the swaddled newborn out to him. “I really think I ought to lay down. I have an awful lot of work to do in the morning.”

Johnny frowned and his forehead furrowed. He had told her in no uncertain terms that it wasn’t a good idea to go back to work right away as she had done with David. As with most things though, Moira got her way. He accepted the baby from her and before she walked slowly into the house, she kissed David on top of the head.

“Hello, darling. Mummy needs some rest.” 

David turned his attention back to his father. He kneeled and tipped his arms so David could get his first look at his new sister.

“She’s all  _ wrinkled _ and  _ funny  _ _ lookin _ _ ’,”  _ he said, making his father laugh.

“Well  so were you  at two days old!” 

David crossed his arms and puzzled. He thought the babies in movies were a lot cuter than this one. He followed his father into the house where Adelina was waiting for them at the front door.

“Had to do it without you this time,” He smiled and handed her the baby.

“I’m sure she did fine,” Adelina replied. 

“I meant me,” he laughed, shaking his head.  She lifted her arms and closed her eyes while she inhaled the scent of Alexis’ head.

“It’s been so long since I held a baby, I’d almost forgotten that smell,” she smiled back up at Johnny and cocked her head seeing him frowning.

“She’s really going back to work next week?” Alexis started to squirm and wake up. Adelina rocked her gently.

He nodded and pushed his hands into his pockets. “It’s almost  S weeps  W eek. They wrote a demonic possession storyline for her so she could be laying in a bed. It’ll hide the baby weight and she can rest.”

Adelina  tsked and shook her head disapprovingly. 

“I know, I know. But it’s Moira. It’s what she wants.”

She pursed her lips and sighed. Alexis’s aqua eyes opened and she started to wail. David grimaced at the highly objectionable noise. If the baby was going to insist on screeching like that, he wasn’t so sure this baby sister thing was going to work for him.


End file.
